What they don't know

Part 14

Matt's chest rose slowly, calmly, the soft fabric of his shirt rubbing at Lance's cheek. Neither of them had been able to fall asleep. Lance wished he could. He wished he could do anything to just slip away and escape this. His very soul felt heavy. He wished it was heavy enough to just rip through the fabric of existence and finally allow him to disappear. 

Matt's fingers in his hair pulled his attention away. Dull nails scratched at his scalp, brushing away the dirt that had built up. The movements of his fingers flicked the hair up, curling it and leaving it stood up on ends.

Lance blinked his eyes open, tears returning back to his eyes as only half his vision came back to him. He closed the obscured one, sniffling at the feeling of his eyelashes tickling the rough texture of the bandage. The salt in his tears burned the wound on his cheek.

Matt moved over silently, pulling Lance against his chest. Lance's nose hooked perfectly over his shoulder as Matt's arms wound around him to clench the back of Lance's shirt.

"I've got you." He breathed, "I'm not going anywhere."

How long had it been?

Months?

Since the Blade collapsed?

When had Lance's heart started to pick up whenever he saw Matt?

Lance knew it wasn't platonic. He'd had crushes before. Was this all that was?

He deflated in Matt's embrace, nuzzling his face into his neck. He wanted to shove the butterflies down, wanted to stomp them all into silence but... why should he? Why couldn't he just have a little comfort? Why couldn't he just have something go right for him for once? If he came clean and Matt turned him down, how bad could it be? He'd been turned down before. He'd been dismissed and tossed to the side, disregarded because 'they had a job to do'.

It had happened with every person he'd ever had a crush on. Even as a Paladin, something that had been sold as being so desirable, he'd never had any luck. Allura had disregarded him since the moment she came out of the pod, he'd never been worth her time. Keith had been no different, no matter how close Lance thought they'd become. No matter how many times he'd sworn there was something between them.

But no matter how he felt about them, they didn't leave him. They were taken from him but they never chose to leave him completely. He had thought Keith did and he did in a sense but he had always tried to keep in contact with him. 

Matt wouldn't leave him. Not ever. They were all they had left, he wouldn't leave him even if he had just ripped Lance's heart out. 

Lance inched closer, blanketing Matt's warmth. He sighed as his eyes fell shut, Matt's hand slipped from his hair, fingers dipping under the collar of Lance's shirt. But none of that mattered right then. They were together, they were safe, and they had the rest of their lives to figure things out. Lance could dance around it as much as he wanted when he woke up but, for now, he could just be content.

"Good morning." Lance could barely feel himself breathing as he made his way into the lab. Aerin and Cerow didn't even flinch when they looked at him.

"Lance." Aerin nodded, immediately turning back to her research. Cerow waved, his eyes not even lingering on the bandage on his face as he continued his discussion with Matt.

Matt smiled at him softly as Lance joined the two of them by Lance's desk. Kova bumped her head against Lance's hand as he passed, he rubbed her ears between his fingers as he came to a stop, "How's it going? Any breakthroughs?"